System of lubrication for elastic-fluid turbines.



0. JUNGGREN. SYSTEM OI LUBRIOATION FOR ELASTIC FLUID TURBINES.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 24 1907.

Patented My 5, 1-910.

ln vent or:

Us car unggrerq ocean JUNGGREN, F SEIHENEGTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELEGTRIC easier.

COMIANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Eatent.

SYSTEM OF LUBRICATION FOR ELASTIC-FLUID TURBINES.

Patented July 5, ltdifi.

Application filed July 24, 1907. Serial Ho. 385,2?2.

To all whom it may concernr Be it known that I, OSCAR JUNseRnN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Systems of Lubrication for Elastic-Fluid Turbines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to turbines driven byelastic fluid such as steam, and it has especial reference to those in which theshaft is u right.

T e ob'ect of the invention is to improve the distri ution of liquid under pressure to lubricate the'shaft bearings and'to operate the motorin the governing mechanism by means of which the steam-valves are opened and closed. The liquid lprefer to use for this purpose is oil, which is forced under pressure to the bearings and to the cylinder of the valve-operating motor throu h a system of piping: connected to a sin e source of pressure: preferably a pump driven by steam or electricity. The proper degrees of pressure for the several bearings and for the motor are determined by means-of bafliers and reducing valves at suitable points. In order to rovide for the varying demands of the va ve-operating motor, an auxiliary supply of oil is stored in a tank under air pressure, so that it will automatically supplement the normal supply from the pump in case of necessity.

The accompanying drawin illustrates diagrammatically a system em odying my invention.

The system is peculiarly applicable to installations. of two or more turbines; the problem of, lubrication being complicated where more'than one machine is to be taken care of by one oil-pump. In the present case there are shown three upright turbines, 1, 2, 3, of the Curtis type, and a single oil pump 4, driven preferably by an electric motor 5, and having" its suction pipe 6 connected with a cooler 7. -iThe' high-pressure delivery main 8 is connected by branches with the step bearings 9 of the several tur= bines. A baflier 10 in each branch regulates the pressure of the oil supplied to the step bearin while a stop-valve 11 in each branch ena lesthe flow of oil to be cut oil in case of'necess'ity. A drain-pipe 12 leads from each step bearing to a common returnpipe 13 whichconducts the oil back to the I dle guide-hearings of the turbine shafts, and

also for driving the valve-operating motors, is led ofi from the main 8 by low-pressure pipes 14. Each of said pipes is provided with aicheck-valve 15, a pressursreducing valve 16, and a stop-valve 17, all of which are shunted by an auxiliary supply-pipe or bypass 18 containing a stop-valve 19 which is normally closed. This by-pass is used when the valves 15, 16, 17, need repairing. The pipe 14: connects directly with the valvechest of the hydraulic motor 20, which rotates the cam-shaft by which the steam valves are actuated,a governing mechanism of this type being disclosed in my former patent, No. 848,106. A gage 21 shows the pressure in the pipe 14. A. continuation 14 of said pipe conveys oil to the upper shaft-hearing, where its pressure is still fur; ther reduced by a bafiler. Instead of feeding directly to the bearings from. the pipe 14, I connect said pipe through the baificr the pump stops. In addition to the pump and the accumulator, each turbine is provided with means for meeting the intermite' tent demand of the governing mechanism beyond the normal rate of feed through the low-pressure pipe 14:. I prefer to use a pressure-tank of some kind, such as the airtight tank 26 connected to the low-pressure pipe 14 above the stop-valve l7. Thepressure in said pipe causes a certain quantity of oil to flow into said tank, but the upper part of the tank is occupied by a volume of air under pressure, forced in by a hand pump or fed in from some other source of pneu-- matic ressure. The normal flow through the rec ucing-valve 16 is suiiicient for ordinary service, but in case of continued opera tion of the governing mechanism through an unusual range'of movement, the normal supply is automatically supplemented by that in the pressuret-ank. The tank fills again when normal conditions are rcsumed, the oil flowing in until the pipe-pressure 1s balanced by the air pressure. In this way, thecontents can be drawn off when desired.

Between the low-pressure pipe Li and the drain-pipe 24 a relief-valve 28 is inserted, to prevent damage when the bypass valve 19 1S opened too Wide, admitting full step-bear ing pressure to the pipe 14.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a system .of lubrication for one or more elastic fluid turbines having hydraulic motors for operating the governing mechanism, the combination of means for supplying lubricant under pressure to the turbines, conduits feeding lubricant from said means to the turbine shaft bearings, a conduit supplying lubricant from said means to operate the motors of the governing mechanism, and means for meeting the intermittent demand of said motors beyond the normal. rate of feed through said conduit.

' 2. In a system of lubrication for an upright turbine, the combination of means for supplying lubricant under pressure, a main co veying lubricant under high pressure to the step bearing, a tank for feeding the guide bearings by gravity, a low pressure pipe leading from said main to the governing mechanism and to the tank, and pressure controlling devices governing the flow of lubricant to the stc bearing, to the low pressure pipe and rom said pipe to the tank.

8. In a system of lubrication for one or more upright turbines, the combination of a main conveying lubricant under high pressure to the step-bearing, a low-pressure pipe connected with the governing mechanism, a pressure-reducing device between the highpressure main and said pipe, and pressurereducing devices between said pipe and the guide-bearings.

4. In a system of lubrication for one or more upright turbines, the combination of a main conveying lubricant under high pressure to the step-bearing, a low-pressure pipe more upright turbines, the combination of a main conveying lubricant under high pressure to the stepbearing; a low-pressure pipe feeding the governing mechanism and the guide-bearings, a pressure-reducing device between the high-pressure main and'said pipe, a controlled by-pass around said device, a drain'-pipe, and a relief-valve between said low-pressure pipe and said drainpipe.

6. In a system of lubrication for an upright turbine provided with hydraulic governing mechanism, the combination of a high-pressure main conveying lubricant to the step-bearing, a low-pressure pipe leading from said main to the governing mechanism, and means for meeting the intermittent demand of said governlng mechanism beyond the normal rate of feed through said pipe.

7. In a system of lubrication for an upright turbine provided with hydraulic governing mechanism, the combination of a high-pressure main conveying lubricant to the stcp-bearings, a low-pressure pipe leading from said main to the gavel-mug mechanism, and means for meeting the lntermittent demand of said governing mechanism beyond the normal rate of feed through said pipe, comprising a pressure-tank connected with said pipe.

8. In a system of lubrication for an upright turbine provided with hydraulic governing mechanism, the combination of a high-pressure main conveying lubricant to the step-bearing, a lowressure pipe leading from said main to t 1e governing mechamsm, and means for meetin the intermittent demand of said governing mechane ism beyond the normal rate of feed through said pipe, comprising an air-tight tank connected with said pipe and containing a supply of lubricant and a volume of compressed air.

. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 23rd; day of July, 190",

foscaa JUNGG-REN.

Witnesses:

BENJAMIN I HULL, HELEN (lumen. 

